Outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks



June 30, 1931. A. F. CURTIN 1,811,878

OUTLET VALVE OPERATING MECHANISM FOR FLUSHING TANKS Filed Aug. 18, 1928 wZIZESS @7/ a, HUG .07"

Patented June 30, 1931 ANDREW F. CURTIN, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS OUTLET VALVE OPERATING lrIECHANISM FOR FLUSHING TANKS Application filed August 18, 1928. SerialNo. 300,431.

The present invention relates to an improvement in outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks.

The present invention is an improvement on the constructions covered by my prior Patents No. 1,454,428, dated May 8, 1928, and

No. 1,602,481, dated October 12, 1926. In Patent No. 1,454,428 the hollow metal stud or bolt which carried the support for the valve 0 aeratin lever and also the shaft for the actuating handle, was formed with a head which, being located on the outer face of the tank wall, was exposed to view. This was objectionable because of the demand that all exposed parts of such fitting should be of por celain or enamel, and the attempt to enamel this metal head proved unsatisfactory because of liability of the enamel to chip ofl and of deterioration in color.

In my Patent N 0. 1,602,481, I have avoided these objections by providing a porcelain escutcheon which fits over and is .held in place by the flanged head on the hollow bolt, the escutcheon covering the bolt and opening in ,4} the tank wall. This construction, however,

has not proven entirely satisfactory, particularly in the hands of unskilled workmen, because of the fact that when the nut on the inner endof the bolt is tightened to hold the bolt and lever support in position, the es-- cutcheon is positively clamped between the flanged end of the bolt and the outer surface of the tank wall. A careless workman assembling the parts frequently tightened the nut until the porcelain escutcheon brokeor was put under such strain that it gave way in subsequent use.

The construction of this patent also involved a large head or flange on the end of V the hollow bolt which it was difficult to cover and hide by the usual ball-like construction of hub on the actuating handle.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of my prior patents and to produce a valve actuating mechanism which shall be simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, free from liability of damage in the hands of unskilled workmen, and of attractive and pleasing appearance.

With these objects in view the present invention consists in the parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described and more particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate what is now considered the preferred form of the .present invention, Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing the wall of the flush tank with my improved operating mechanisnr mounted therein; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing the hollow bolt and porcelain escutcheon with the means for securing the latter upon the former; and Fig. 4 is a per spective view on an enlarged scale of the means for frictionally securing the escutcheon upon the bolt.

The valve operating lever 10, its support 11, actuating handle 12, shaft 13, and crank arm 14 are all substantially the same as shown in my prior Patent No. 1,602,481, and operate in the same manner. The hollow belt or stud, instead of being formed with a flange at one end as shown in said patent-,is now formed with a flange 16 intermediate its ends of the support 11. The nut 26 serves to clamp the bolt and lever support securely in posi-' tion, the support engaging the inner face of the tank wall while the flange 16 engages the outer face of such wall. I

Mounted upon the unthreaded portion 20 of the bolt projecting beyond the flange 16, is the porcelain escutcheon 28 which is of graceful and attractive design, with its back or inner face 30 of relatively large diameter so as to provide a recess 32 to receive the flange 16 of the hollow bolt, thus enclosing and covering the latter. The opposite face 33 of the escutcheon has no recess and the opening is of relatively small diameter so that the escutcheon fits closely the extremity of the unthreaded portion of the bolt being substantially flush with the end thereof.

Since the escutcheon is relieved of all bolt holding strain, such as it was subjected to in my prior patent, it may be easily held in position. The escutcheon may be secured upon the hollow bolt in any one of a number of different ways, for example, by means of a cement or gum, or frictionally, either through a close fitting of the escutcheon upon the bolt, or preferably, by some elastic or yielding device, such as that illustrated in the drawings at 34 and shown in perspective in Fig. l.

This comprises a cylindrical sleeve split at 36, with one end further subdivided by the longitudinal slots 38 to form spring fingers 40, the free ends of which are bent inwardly, as shown at 42, to grip the outer surface of the unthreaded portion 20 of the hollow bolt. The opposite end of the device is in the form of a cylindrical band 4A divided by the slot 36 and the device as a whole is seated within the supplementary recess 46 extending from the main recess 32 into the body of the escutcheon. The internal diameter of this supplementary recess is slightly less than the normal diameter of the band portion at of the friction device so that when the latter is compressed to the extent permitted by the slot 36, it may easily be inserted in such recess, and upon expanding will securely grip the inside of the recess. Thus, the friction device, gripping at one end the escutcheon and the other end the unthreaded portion of the bolt, securely holds the escutcheon in place against any and all strains to which it may be subjected.

The friction member 34 may be formed of spring metal, such as spring brass, which may be expanded or contracted as the occasion may require to fit the slightly varying diameters of recess in the escutcheon. By the bending of the fingers the device may be adapted for use with hollow bolts of slightly varying diameter. Different degrees of tightness may also be secured, if desired, by manipulation of the friction device.

t will be noted that owing to the yielding character of the friction device and its method of engagement with escutcheon and bolt, the escutcheon is adapted for angular adjustment upon the hollow bolt, thus insuring close fitting of the escutcheon against the tank wall notwithstanding slight variations and imperfections in the fitting and alignment of the parts.

It will also be noted that since the escutcheon takes no part in the mounting or securing of the bolt and its connected parts to tank wall, the latter may be assembled and the escutcheon afterwards forced upon the end20 of the hollow bolt.

\Vhere the escutcheon is positioned upon the bolt before the parts are assembled, it

is obvious that there is no liability of damage to the escutcheon when the nut is tightened up to clamp the support and the flange tightly against opposite faces of the tank wall, for even should the escutcheon engage the outer surface of the tank wall before the flange 16 comes into contact therewith, continued tightening of the nut and the drawing of the flange toward the wall would simply result in the sliding of the smooth portion 20 of the bolt through the friction device 34.

The close fitting of the outer face of the escutcheon around the end of the bolt is also a feature of advantage since it reduces to a minimum any opening or clearance between the parts. Since the radial thickness of the walls at the end of the bolt is very little, both the end of the bolt and the side clearance between the bolt and the escutcheon are completely covered by the overlapping rounded or ball-like portion of the hub of the handle. Preferably the end of the unthreaded portion 20 of the bolt extends very slightly beyond the outer face 32 of the escutcheon so that there a metal to metal contact between the end 48 of the bolt and the metal head or flange 50 on the shaft 13 adjacent the handle, thus providing a smooth bearing without liability of rubbing contact between the porcelain handle and the porcelain escutcheon.

Having thus described the inventon, what is claimed is:

1. Outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks comprising a valve operating lever, a support upon which the lever is pivoted, a tank having a hole in its wall, a hollow bolt having a flange intermediate its ends, one end of the bolt being provided with threads and the other end being'unthreaded, he hollow boltbeing adapted to be mounted with the threaded portion extending inwardly through the hole in the tank wall and with the flange in contact with the outer surface of the tank wall, a nut for the threaded end of the bolt for clamping the lever support against the inner surface of the tank wall to hold the support and hollow bolt in position, a porcelain escutcheon mounted upon the unthreaded outer end portion of the hollow bolt and recessed on its under face to receive and cover the flange of the hollow bolt and fitting closely against the outer surface of the tank wall, the escutcheon being frictionally held upon the unthreaded outer end porton of the bolt, and a handle provided with a. shaft extending through the hollow bolt for actuating the lever.

2. Outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks comprising a valve operating lever, a support upon which the lever is pivoted, a tank having a hole in its wall, a hollow bolt having a flange intermediate its ends, one end of the bolt being provided with threads and the other end being unthreaded,

the bolt being adapted to be mounted with the threaded portion extending through the hole in the tank wall and with the flange in contact with the outer surface of the tank wall, a nut for the threaded end of the bolt for clamping the lever support against the inner surface of the tank wall to hold the support and bolt in position, a porcelain escutcheon mounted upon the unthreaded portion of the bolt and recessed on one face to receive and cover the flange of the bolt and fitting closely against the outer surface of the tank wall, means between the escutcheon and unthreaded portion of the bolt for frictionally holding the escutcheon in position thereon, and a handle provided with a shaft extending through the hollow bolt for actuating the lever.

3. Outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks comprising a valve operating lever, a support upon which the lever is pivoted, a tank having a hole in its wall, a hollow bolt having a flange intermediate its ends, one end of the bolt being provided with threads and the other end being unthreaded, the bolt being adapted to be mounted with the threaded portion extending through the hole in the tank wall and with the flange in contact with the outer surface of the tank wall, a nut for the threaded end of the bolt for clamping the lever support against the inner surface of the tank wall to hold the support and bolt in position, a porcelain escutcheon mounted upon the unthreaded portion of the bolt and recessed on one face to receive and cover the flange of the bolt and fitting closely against the outer surface of the tank wall, a friction sleeve between the escutcheon and unthreaded portion of the bolt for holding the former securely upon the latter, the sleeve comprising an expanding portion for gripping the escutcheon and a contracting portion for gripping the bolt, and a handle provided with a shaft extending through the hollow shaft for actuating the lever.

at. Outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks comprising a valve operating lever, a support upon which the lever is pivoted, a tank having a hole in its wall, a hollow bolt having a flange intermediate its ends, one end of the bolt being provided with threads and the other end being unthreaded,

the bolt being adapted to be mounted with the threaded portion extending through the hole in the tank wall and with the flange in contact with the outer surface of the tank wall, a nut for the threaded end of the boltfor clamping the lever support against the inner surface of the tank wall to hold the support and bolt in position, a porcelain escutcheon mounted upon the unthreaded portion of the bolt and provided on one face with a main recess to receive and cover the flange of the bolt and with a supplementary recess extending into the body of the escutcheon from the main recess to receive means for frictionally securing the escutcheon upon the bolt and in close contact with the outer surface of the tank wall, the opposite face ating the lever, the handle being formed with a hub portion overlying and covering the end of the bolt and the escutcheon adjacent thereto. r

5. Outlet valve operating mechanism for flushing tanks comprising a valve operating lever, a support upon which the lever is pivoted, a tank having a hole in its wall, a hola low bolt, means for securing the bolt in the hole in the wall of the tank, means for mounting the support upon the bolt, an escutcheon mounted upon the bolt and frictionally held thereon and against the outer surface of the F tank wall, and a handle provided with a shaft extending through the hollow bolt for actuating the lever.

6. An escutcheon and operating lever support for valve operating mechanisms consist- '.ing of a hollow bolt provided with an integral flange near one end and threaded on the other end, a nut on the threaded end to clamp the flange against the outer surface of the tank wall, and a friction sleeve on the outer end of the hollow bolt engaging the outside of the hollow bolt end and the inside of the escutcheon to frictionally hold the latter in position covering the hollow bolt flange.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ANDREW F. CURTIN. 

